The Indians won their fifth game in a row and eighth straight at home with a 5-3 win against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night. Lefty T.J. House pitched well and aside from a hiccup in the middle innings the bullpen locked it down late to preserve the win. The IBI's Tony Lastoria fills in and provides his second thoughts on House's performance, Michael Bourn's surge and Terry Francona's bullpen usage.

The House is a Rockin'. Opposing teams at Progressive Field; don't bother knockin'. For the second straight night, the Indians relied on solid starting pitching and timely hitting to string together another big win in their house Tuesday. Deadlocked in a 3-3 tie against Boston in the seventh, Michael Bourn delievered on what eventually became the game's deciding hit. Join IBI Tribe beat reporter Jim Berdysz as he recaps another victory from the ballpark.

The Indians are set to activate Carlos Santana on Friday, Nick Swisher is about a week away from a rehab assignment in the minors and Zach McAllister will make his first rehab start in the minors at Low-A Lake County on Wednesday and Rays outfielder Will Myers is expected to miss at least two months. Those stories and more in another edition of Storylines here at IBI....

Reunion was the motif of Monday's contest, wherein Cleveland defeated Boston 3-2. While the game ended with former Indians' star Grady Sizemore popping out for Boston, it was a former Boston player, Justin Masterson, who monopolized the spotlight throughout. The IBI's John Grimm analyzes Masterson's start, both in terms of how objectively incredible it was and how the start was a microcosm of Masterson's pitching career.

It's no secret Justin Masterson has struggled. Coming into the game Monday 0-3 with a 8.84 in his last four starts, the Indians ace may have finally turned a corner. Striking out 10 over seven shutout innings, Masterson led the Tribe to a 3-2 victory over the Red Sox in what was his best start of the season. Join IBI Indians beat reporter Jim Berdysz as he recaps another win from the ballpark.

Was it just me or was it odd seeing Grady Sizemore in a Boston uniform playing in right field? In this MLB News and Notes segment, the IBI's Andrew Zajac will be giving occasional reports on the latest news and rumors throughout the MLB. Today's piece focuses on the Astros promoting and extending one of their top prospects, numerous updates on the Indians, what the Blue Jays could potentially do to improve their team, and more.

In this week's installment of Inside the Wigwam, IBI Tribe beat reporter Jim "Birdman" Berdysz, answers the question of whether or not Corey Kluber has solidified himself as the Indians ace. He also gives the latest news and notes surrounding the ballclub, tracking Cleveland's top players over a great month of May. And gives his final call on what the rotation may look like without Justin Masterson next year.

The Cleveland Indians today announced that they have recalled left-handed pitcher Nick Hagadone from Triple-A Columbus and optioned right-handed pitcher Mark Lowe to Columbus. Also, right-handed pitcher Blake Wood has been claimed by the Kansas City Royals on outright waivers.

The Indians are slowly but surely making up ground in the division as they have now climbed out of the cellar and passed up the Royals for fourth place. They are now within two games of the Twins and White Sox and six games behind the division-leading Tigers after completing a three-game sweep of Colorado on Sunday. The IBI's Jake Dungan recaps the victory.

There's nothing better than a walk-off homer to complete a series sweep. In this MLB News and Notes segment, the IBI's Andy Nichols will be giving occasional reports on the latest news and rumors throughout the MLB. Today's piece focuses on Houston honing in on their first overal pick in the draft, a trade involving a draft pick, and more.

The bats have come alive again, which coupled with two critical pieces from the Shin-Soo Choo trade, starting pitcher Trevor Bauer and reliever Bryan Shaw, were pivotal in Cleveland's 7-6 victory over Colorado. The IBI's John Grimm discusses not only Bauer's strength in the game, but also the persistently combustible Lonnie Chisenhall, who has made a stirring argument to become an everyday player, as well as Mike Aviles's curious centrality within Saturday's game.

Manziel-mania will officially be making its way to Progressive Field on Wednesday. In this MLB News and Notes segment, I will be giving occasional reports on the latest news and rumors throughout the MLB. Today's piece focuses on who's to blame for the Royals slow start, an early look at the summer trade market, and more.

The Colorado Rockies entered Progressive Field as one of the hottest batting teams in the major leagues, and one of the best contact teams, in the majors. Kluber's dominating performance in a 5-2 defeat of Colorado required tremendous skill not only from the pitcher, but also from the catcher. The IBI's John Grimm discusses the divergent catcher-framing abilities of the two catchers and explores the magnitude of Kluber's achievements to date.

Who said the Indians don't have an ace? Corey Kluber is not your prototypical front of the line starter, but he sure keeps pitching like one. Friday night at Progressive Field was no different, as the right-hander led the Tribe past the Colorado Rockies, 5-2, snapping the team's four-game losing streak. Join IBI Tribe beat reporter Jim Berdysz as he recaps the victory from the ballpark.

It's finally the weekend and with the weather heating up, grab your tickets and head out to Progressive Field! In this MLB News and Notes segment, the IBI's Andrew Zajac will be giving occasional reports on the latest news and rumors throughout the MLB. Today's piece focuses on the Cardinals promoting their top prospect, the Blue Jays also promoting their top prospect, Corey Kluber joins elite company, and more.

In this era of pitchers blowing fastballs by hitters with triple-digit velocity, it's refreshing to see a hurler not blessed with a power arm find success through the actual art of pitching and that is exactly what left-hander T.J. House did against the White Sox on Wednesday night. Join the IBI's Jake Dungan as he breaks down the lone bright spot from a tough series in Chicago in a special off-day edition of Second Thoughts.

It's almost June! Where has time gone? In this MLB News and Notes segment, the IBI's Andrew Zajac will be giving occasional reports on the latest news and rumors throughout the MLB. Today's piece focuses on a report that Kendrys Morales could make sense for the Yankees, the Royals shook up their coaching staff, some eye popping numbers about the Tribe, and more.

Tracking Jesus Aguilar throughout the minor league system it appeared that he had two tangible skills worth monitoring, on-base ability and power, which if developed would carry him to the big leagues. He had a big jump in his power numbers early this season with a transition to Huntington Park in Columbus, and the IBI's Michael Hattery offers up a case study as to why we need to take offensive performances in Columbus (and Akron) with a grain of salt.

When you’re struggling offensively, you should enjoy running into a guy like Hector Noesi. With the return of Jason Kipnis to the lineup and Noesi (career ERA of 5.73) on the hill, this was as good a chance as any to break out of the funk. Instead, the Indians failed to score more than two runs for a fourth consecutive game (all losses), and dropped a second straight winnable game late. The IBI's Michael Goodman shares his second thoughts on another tough loss for the Indians...

Well, that was a crushing defeat. In this MLB News and Notes segment, the IBI's Andy Nichols will be giving occasional reports on the latest news and rumors throughout the MLB. Today's piece focuses the rumors surrounding Baltimore and Jeff Samardzija, injury news from around the league, and more.

Available IBI Books

The 2014 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider book featuring the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is now available. Also, previous editions from 2008-2012 are also available at a discounted rate. Just click on the book image for more information. Thanks again for all the support!